It is common practice to ship and store cigarette packages in cartons. Conventional or standard cigarette cartons ordinarily hold ten packages, each package containing about 20 cigarettes. The packages are usually arranged in two relatively superposed rows of 5 packages each. Such standard cartons completely encase the cigarette packages and are provided with glued flaps. Examples of cartons for ten packages of cigarettes are provided in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,752,308 to Begemann; 4,738,359 to Phillips, Jr.; and 4,903,844 to Oglesby.
Cigarette packages are normally removed from a carton by opening a top portion of the carton, which extends the length of the carton and exposes the bottom of the cigarette packages when opened, and removing the packages as needed. One problem with removing cigarette packages from the top of the carton is that all of the cigarette packages can fall out of the carton if it is knocked over.
Previous cartons have included ways to remove cigarette packages other than opening the top portion. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,875,938 issued to Bramhill shows a cigarette carton having an opening for the removal of cigarettes. Bramhill only discloses a cigarette carton where the cigarette packages are arranged in a single row of eight packages. In addition, the top flap of the carton disclosed by Bramhill opens only to expose the side faces of the cigarette packages. Thus, when cigarette packages are arranged in the carton of Bramhill, the ends of the packages could not be tax stamped while in the carton using modern tax stamping equipment.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,771,988 issued to Sweeney shows a cigarette carton that can be converted into a gravity fed receptacle for mounting. To remove a cigarette package from the carton of Sweeney, a person must push the packages out of the carton by inserting a finger or thumb in an opening on the opposite side. One disadvantage of the carton of Sweeney is that the carton must be placed in a location where a person has access to the back of it in order to push the cigarettes out.
Another patent illustrating a carton which allows for the removal of cigarette packages without opening the top portion is U.S. Pat. No. 6,050,402 issued to Walter. Walter discloses a carton that contains ten packages of cigarettes arranged in a face to face stack. A dispensing portion is shown for the removal of cigarette packages. The width of the dispensing portion is equal to the depth of the cigarette package such that the cigarette packages are removed sideways. One disadvantage of Walter is that the carton is designed to hold ten cigarette packages arranged in a face to face stack. This ten by one arrangement would make it difficult to implement the Walter patent in conventional cigarette production processes, particularly with regard to the tax stamping of cigarette packages.
The present invention addresses these problems by providing a carton assembly with a dispensing portion that enables the removal of individual cigarette packages. The dispensing portion may be removed from the carton allowing for the withdrawal of cigarette packages. Carton assemblies of the present invention containing cigarette packages may be tax stamped using conventional tax stamping machines and may be produced without changing print cylinders.